In 2025, mother and son team Christine and Grant Benedum began Giving Garland, a project intent on spreading the joy of the holidays to underprivileged families. Giving Garland collects donated decorations and distributes them to shelters and families in need.

The Benedum family partnered with Chestnut Hill's Norwood-Fontbonne Academy and Our Mother of Consolation Parish to start the project, but did not anticipate how large it would grow in less than a year.

After recently receiving IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization, Giving Garland is now able to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. With this new designation, the Benedums are continuing to grow their nonprofit. In the past year, they have had an overwhelming amount of community and volunteer support.

“The excitement, the love and the support was contagious,” Christine Benedum said. “And the effort that people put into this was just astounding and really touching and very personal.”

At their most recent event on Aug. 29, they were able to sort, organize, test and prepare their decorations for this upcoming holiday season. By preparing months in advance, the team at Giving Garland can distribute the decorations in time for December.

Although their unexpected growth has been welcomed with open arms, they have had to quickly adjust to the large volume of support they have been receiving.

“The growth potential is just through the roof, and we want to capitalize on that. We want to build on it, but we want to do it responsibly. We don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver,” Benedum said. “So, I want to be very cautious about making sure that you know things proceed in an efficient and strategic way as we build this platform.”

Due to so many people giving, they have stopped accepting donations until mid-December because of their current storage availability. However, they are actively welcoming anyone who is interested in volunteering to give their time and support.

“We had all of our volunteers help distribute [our donations] and bring them to small storage units that we had gotten, not knowing how much we’d collect,” Benedum said. “So, our volunteers have just been outstanding and now we ended up having to go to a warehouse.”

Through their first year of operation, the Giving Garland team was able to see firsthand change in the community around them. By distributing the decorations, families were able to decorate Christmas trees and bring more warmth into their homes.

“I just remember one boy saying, ‘I looked under the tree, is that where my Hot Wheels are going to go?’” Benedum said. “And it was so rewarding that he had a place where his toys were going to go.”

Being able to spread a little bit of holiday joy to those who may not have any means to acquire their own decorations is what keeps Giving Garland intent on its mission. As 2026 continues and the holidays approach, Giving Garland is adding to its team.

“I encourage anybody to still join us, because everything we’re doing is a new process, because we are still not a year in, and all of this is still new,” Benedum said. “It’s just been awesome. The generosity and the heart and the kindness all around, it’s just been a beautiful thing.”